“It’s About Giving Back:" a Contributor Experience in Bangkit


A Story About Dicky Satriawan, Bangkit 2021 Contributor

Living in a fast-paced world like these days, Dicky Satriawan (24), one of Bangkit 2021 contributors, still struggled with the internet connection in his village, Pakah, Mantingan districts, in Ngawi, East Java.

Dicky’s passion for learning and giving is big, but his resources are insufficient. Nevertheless, it didn’t prevent him from giving his best in Bangkit.

Born and Raised in a Low-Tech Neighborhood

Dicky was born and raised in a neighborhood in the middle of a forest. He’s the youngest of two siblings, with a mother who works as a teacher and a father who’s a retired civil servant in forestry (dinas kehutanan). His parents’ decent jobs contributed to fairly good literacy in his family compared to others in his village.

Young Dicky was someone who liked to play on the computer. He put his interest in PC gaming and sometimes tinkered with his own laptop. Even when Dicky was in high school, he did a favor for his headmaster by troubleshooting the computer. His experience with computers made him decide to really dive deep into informatics in college.

To elevate his competence in computer science, Dicky studied Informatics Engineering at Universitas Brawijaya. Being an informatics engineering student sparked curiosity among people in his neighborhood because none of them was familiar with computers then. This was something new to the youths in his village. In his hometown,  the joint occupation is agriculture and forestry, such as farmer, forest guard, conservationist, and so on, just like Dicky’s father.

It was difficult for Dicky to assure his parents that IT is a promising field to earn a living in. All they know is that being a “PNS” is the most preferable work for life. The only family member who gave him full support was his older sister, who understood what he was doing.

Struggling with 100 Kbps Internet Speed

Dicky faced a challenging situation in his final years of college. His family was experiencing tragedy and hardships that made Dicky have to rise up to support his family financially.

At that time, he thought he would improve his skills and knowledge to get a job quickly. Then Dicky decided to learn Google Cloud by himself. The problem was the internet speed in his forest-bound village was only 100 Kbps. Despite the slow connection, Dicky still put much effort into learning Google Cloud. He was so patient that he could do house chores and read documentation while waiting for the internet speed to process his request.

To enrich his knowledge, Dicky participated in various government scholarship programs. There were lessons in this program that took place independently; some were Bootcamp. His perseverance and passion for learning Google Cloud made him succeed in earning Google ACE certification for free after joining Cloud Computing Online Academy by Digital Talent Scholarship from Kominfo x Google. Limitations didn’t block his way from achieving more. Because of this certification, his resume was getting better and more visible to potential employers.

As a result, a fresh graduate Dicky landed his first job as a Support Engineer in a startup. Working remotely, he rode his motorcycle as far as 40 km from his house to find a stable internet connection. Once again, his everyday challenging situation fueled his spirit to give out his best. He spent 2 months working in the multi-region tech startup, Pointstar, a job that enabled him to earn a living for himself and his family. Slowly but surely, his parents understand Dicky's passion for the IT field and support him.

As time went by, during his time in his first company, Dicky got information about the opportunity to become a Bangkit contributor. He heard that Bangkit was a digital talent development program for all Indonesian students. He suddenly felt an attachment.

Dicky Wanted to Give Back

Knowing Bangkit, he felt an instant call to give back. Out there, Dicky felt that many Indonesian youths from less privileged backgrounds like him are looking for an opportunity to improve their and their family’s well-being. IT education like Bangkit promises a way to make it happen. Deep inside, Dicky is also truly aware that his skills and knowledge used for living were derived from a free IT training and certification like Bangkit.
“I can grow and develop myself with the help of a scholarship. I think it's time for me to give back by contributing to a scholarship program.”
In Bangkit 2021, Dicky was assigned to be a dedicated contributor who taught in synchronous classes. He led over 90 sessions on Cloud Computing with Google Cloud, in which he shared his experience on Introduction to Cloud Computing, Networking in Cloud Computing, Preparing ACE Exam, etc.

Dicky also said that Bangkit has an emotional attachment to him. When Dicky contributed to Bangkit 2021, he went through some trying times in his personal life. Bangkit seemed to have its own meaning for Dicky, a sign for him to rise and come back stronger. He felt he also needed to share what he knows best -cloud computing. He was empowered by the fact that he and all other 386 volunteers could help younger people lead a better life path by earning skills for life.
“It was an honor for me to have an opportunity to teach students from all over Indonesia. Although sometimes I question, “did I do this well?” Some students returned to me and said I could deliver the learning material well. Other students also said that they had been inspired by my sessions, thus aiming to be an IT educator in the future.”
Reading the heartwarming feedback from his students made Dicky cry happy tears. The students told him that Dicky was able to teach with easy language and simplify complicated tech terms. It really eased the students to understand the learning material. Also Dicky tried to be different by creating an engaging atmosphere in class. He tried to be friendly and attractive to catch a student's attention.

Dicky felt immense happiness when knowing his student graduated and got hired by companies. He couldn’t believe that he participated in a program that helps people develop themselves, make achievements, and grow into a better version of themselves.
“You don’t have to be an expert to start something,” Dicky quoted his favorite saying from Tiny Wisdom.
These words encouraged Dicky to give his best while contributing to Bangkit 2021. With Bangkit, he had an unforgettable teaching experience, encouraging student appreciation and a better job opportunity. His decision to participate in Bangkit didn’t only impact the students who joined but also influenced his competence as an instructor. After Bangkit, he’s more motivated to be an educator result? He recently received a Google Educator Level 1 Certificate.

Think about giving back the knowledge that you have? Then it’s your turn to make an impact in Bangkit 2022!

Apply to be Bangkit Contributor 2022 here

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